What are French rules for children’s car seats?

Reader Question: What are the rules for using a child booster seat in a car in France? Is there a maximum weight or height limit?

All children under the age of 10 must be in a baby or booster seat in a moving vehicle.

These child’s seats must “correspond to the size of the child” and be “correctly installed in the vehicle”, according to France’s road safety authority (Sécurité routière). 

Children should generally only be placed on one of the back seats of the car, unless this is impossible (there is an exception if the child is in a child’s car seat that is rear-facing, and airbags have been deactivated, in which case they can go in the front).

Seatbelt from age 10

A baby needs to be in a ‘rear-facing’ position in their seat until they are at least 15 months, although the Sécurité routière recommends keeping a young child in this position for as long as possible.

Once a child has reached the age of 10, a booster seat is no longer necessary and the child should use a seatbelt.

Children over the age of 10 can also sit in the front of the car without restrictions. 

Failure to correctly install your child in an appropriate booster seat can result in a fine of up to €750 (though more usually, a fixed €135) and the same applies to failing to have a child over 10 wear a seatbelt. 

Read more: Driving rules and penalties tighten in France: key changes explained

EU regulations 

There are strict EU regulations on children’s booster seats. 

Booster seats need to conform to certain EU regulations – make sure the booster seat you want to buy has a sticker (usually orange) confirming they fulfil either the EU regulations R44 or R129.

From September 2024, booster seats conforming to only R44 will no longer be sold (but if already purchased can still be used), as this based its categories on a child’s weight rather than height, with the latter now being recommended.